Sewing in the time of COVID-19 – Week 44
Today I’ve spent time at the online Poetic Justice conference, which was about using the Arts for Peace and Healing, organized by ‘The Listening’. I’ve also been at Craft Napa with Pokey Bolton and several friends who are teaching online this weekend. What these 2 events have in common is bringing creative people together for comfort and community. Sunday night I will be virtually attending the International Peace Honors put on by the Peace Tech Lab in Washington DC. (One of my quilts ‘Mothers of the World’ hangs in their conference room.)
After such a difficult week in our country, I am focused on Peace and Healing. I am also thinking about ways to use art, sewing and creativity to promote unity and a new kind of patriotism that is compassionate and inclusive. I invite you to give this some thought as well. When we get to the other side of this I expect to see many quilts expressing these feelings and ideas, and I hope for exhibits that will allow us to voice our sadness, our trauma, our hopes and dreams. Sacred Threads has been delayed by one year due to the pandemic, but keep in mind this is one exhibit that has always welcomed the expression of these kinds of emotions.
In the Poetic Justice conference, I heard a phrase that caught my attention. “Art as Confession” was about sharing personal trauma in a cathartic way as a transformative healing process. This is a theme in the work of the Common Threads Project and founder Rachel Cohen. eQuilter donated to Common Threads at the end of the year to support their work, and you may be interested in their upcoming online workshop “Common Threads Sampler”.
Common Threads Workshop
Peace Tech Lab – Register for Intl Peace Honors
Craft Napa
It is a stressful and troubling time, and I urge you to use your sewing and quilting as a way to process and release the difficult emotions you may be feeling. When we come together virtually, and some day when we come together again in person, we can hold a safe nurturing space to support and heal, through friendship and quilting.
with Hope for the Future,
Luana and Paul
